Myself and a friend will be flying into Reno for our first Burn. I've read about different accommodation options and think that tent inside a tent might be the best option for us. Please let me know what your thoughts are, here is a bit of a background:

- we are flying into Reno on either Wed night or Thur morning, then taking a day to shop, prepare, rent a car etc.
- will be at Burningman from Fri morning to Mon morning only
- this is a long way for us to come, so it might be the only Burningman we will attend, therefore, we are not wanting to invest money into "infrastructure"
- we'd like to keep things as SIMPLE to set up and take down as possible

Some of the options I've considered:
- splurging out and renting an RV. (This might be difficult given that most companies have minimum 5 day or 7 day rental)
- renting some sort of a moving truck and setting up our sleeping area inside it (we've never driven a truck before, also hear it can get hot)
- renting out a standard sized car which will be used for keeping valuables inside a trunk only, then doing a tent inside a tent thing. I already have a small tent and will probably be able to borrow a very large tent from one of my fiends - so the cost for this set-up would be $0. We'd then sleep in a small tent and keep it dust free.

Last option seems like the cheapest and simplest. If the outside tent is big enough there should be enough area between the two tents to provide space for other things...

For that short a time on the playa...do the tent thing. I know jobs, school, and other commitments get in the way, but yer gonna hatecherself not coming for the whole event...but you'll learn, and plan accordingly next time.

Don't bore your friends with all your troubles. Tell your enemies instead, for they will delight in hearing about them.

dragonpilot wrote:For that short a time on the playa...do the tent thing. I know jobs, school, and other commitments get in the way, but yer gonna hatecherself not coming for the whole event...but you'll learn, and plan accordingly next time.

Ditto! Go the tent route! A well anchored canopy, with camo netting attached, should be fine. Make sure anchor about a foot or more into the playa.

I'm so excited that you guys will be making it out for your first burn! One thing to keep in mind is that there is no such thing as "dust-free." I remember thinking that I would keep certain things "dust-free" during my first burn, and mother nature showed me who was boss! It will get into EVERYTHING. Keeping your tent inside another tent doesn't mean the inside tent will necessarily remain clean, especially if there is a long dust storm.

For such a short visit, definitely use a tent. Rather than the dust-free aspect I think it would be better for you to focus on having shade/air flow and having your tent well-anchored to the ground. Air flow in your tent will make it a better place for naps and daytime visits, and you'll need somewhere shady to hang out. Even a tent-that-isn't-in-another-tent will get ovenlike and stifling during the day if it is too enclosed. I recommend that you consider bringing a tent and some sort of shade structure to go over it, whether it is some poles with camo netting or one of those party pop-ups from Target.

And keep that sucker anchored to the ground.. you don't want to see your tent flapping around 20,000 ft up in the air.

insonne wrote:- will be at Burningman from Fri morning to Mon morning only- this is a long way for us to come, so it might be the only Burningman we will attend

That's exactly why I think you're really screwing up by coming all that way to miss most of it! And in many people's opinion, it's better earlier in the week before all the weekend party-crashing types show up.
If I could only make the weekend, I'd probably just skip the whole trip. In fact, I HAVE done that.

GreyCoyote: "At this rate it wont be long before he is Admiral Fukkit."Delle: Singularly we may be dysfunctional misfits, but together we're magic.

Renting an "RV" might be out of the question. I don't know what you're looking to spend but:
According to the web site of Sierra RV in Reno, they have only one unit left and it's a 34' and goes for $8500 for the week.
"Tent inside a tent" you could make your own little theme camp and have a maze of sorts.

tent in a tent seems a little unnecessary, not to mention that it will likely involve a lot of swearing when you try to erect the smaller tent while having almost no space for those bendy-rods.

Come out earlier, it will be VERY well worth it. Its not like youll get bored out there if you show up at the beginning

as for dust, give up now. get bigass plastic tubs with lids and store your stuff in them. I did that, and the stuff stored within stayed almost entirely dustless. (whereas my sleeping bag amasses a solid 1/2inch of dust during the week)

> - renting out a standard sized car which will be used for keeping
> valuables inside a trunk only, then doing a tent inside a tent thing. I
> already have a small tent and will probably be able to borrow a very
> large tent from one of my fiends - so the cost for this set-up would
> be $0. We'd then sleep in a small tent and keep it dust free.

The small tent won't be dust-free; however, give it a try and see. Renting a standard car and using the trunk for your stuff sounds good. I'd have suggested using a tent and a shade, but you get to make your choices and live with them. I really recommend a shade, though.

Sorry you can't make it the whole time, but come when you can - don't listen to all the people saying do the whole week or none at all. :-> Come out and see if you get nailed to full time for years. If not, it's still better to have come for what you can.

Go to the BM site and read all the stuff for preparation and first-timers. See you on the playa! (Oh, drop by our camp Friday afternoon: we give away free Burner clothes.)

-dont get an RV. too expensive and not worth it for just the weekend.
-dont do the tent within a tent. doesn't help that much, you're not there for that long, not worth the expense.
-dont rent a truck if you're not comfortable driving it. they do get hot during the day and you're probably not going to have a lot of stuff to put in there.

-do consider buying a shade/canopy/carport or making your own shade structure so you can hang out at your camp during the day. unless you have friends to hang with or want to hang out at Center Camp every day. it will get too hot to be in your tent.

Not to step on the captains toes, but an old joke about the Indian chief who was at the therapist's office wondering if he should sleep in his tee-pee or his wigwam. "Relax" said the therapist, "you're two tents"!